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David Campbell

By AdminMay 16, 2012

David Campbell is one of Australia’s most popular entertainers. A multi-platinum selling recording artist, Campbell is an accomplished TV, theatre and cabaret performer, has recorded three Top Ten albums and sold out concert tours from coast to coast. He has a unique legacy as not just one of Australia’s leading musical theatre stars, but also one of the few local performers to have achieved similar success in New York.

David currently hosts Nine Network’s new show Mornings with Sonia Kruger.

Born and raised in Adelaide, David was drawn to the performing arts from a young age. He was performing at the STC and Sydney Opera House by the age of 22 and in 1997 starred in a major revival of Les Miserables in Sydney. Shortly after this, Campbell moved to New York, where his downtown cabaret show attracted huge crowds. Time Out New York described him as “the biggest buzz since Barbra Streisand” which resulted in Campbell moving his show to the iconic cabaret room Rainbow & Stars where he became the youngest performer ever to headline the venue.

With this success as a launch-pad, Campbell was soon in-demand from Broadway’s most prestigious writers and directors. Stephen Sondheim cast him in the New York premiere of his musical Saturday Night and he played leading roles in shows like Babes In Arms and South Pacific.

In 2001, at the height of his New York success, Campbell was tempted back to Australia by the role of a lifetime, ‘the wild one’ Johnny O'Keefe, in the musical phenomenon Shout! He toured Australia for over a year with the show. Campbell went on to star in the Australian productions of classic musicals like Carousel and Company, new works at the MTC and STC, and even in Pirates of Penzance for Opera Australia. Along the way, he picked up a Helpmann Award for Best Actor for his 2005 role in Sunset Boulevard.

At the same time Campbell was establishing himself as one of the country’s biggest-selling recording artists. His albums The Swing Sessions (2006), The Swing Sessions 2 (2007) and Good Lovin’ (2008) all hit the Top Ten and achieved platinum sales. He has also mounted no fewer than five sell-out concert tours - for which he has received a further two Helpmann Awards. In 2009, his live concert DVD Good Lovin’ Live hit number one on the ARIA chart.

In recent years Campbell’s position in the Australian entertainment industry expanded with his appointment as Artistic Director of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival (the largest cabaret festival in the world), and the success of Luckiest Productions, the production company he runs with his wife Lisa. Luckiest now produces all of Campbell’s national tours as well as many other independent projects.